Plainte Moresque: Portrait of Jaime Bosch by Manet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2023

Title: Plainte Moresque: Portrait of Jaime Bosch

Artist: Edouard Manet (French, Paris 1832–1883 Paris)

Sitter: Jaime Bosch (Spanish, Barcelona 1825–1895 Paris)

Date: ca. 1866

Medium: Graphite, brush and watercolor and pink gouache, pen and brown ink

Dimensions: Sheet: 14 1/8 × 10 5/8 in. (35.9 × 27 cm)

Classification: Drawings

Credit Line: Purchase, Charles and Jessie Price and Friends of Drawings and Prints Gifts, and funds from various donors, 2023

Accession Number: 2023.396


In 1853 the Catalan musician Jaime Bosch immigrated to Paris, where a vogue for Spanish culture ensured that he found receptive audiences. Among them were Manet and his wife, who invited Bosch to perform at their apartment, and this drawing attests to the close relationship that they developed. Manet portrayed Bosch playing the guitar in this cover design for the sheet music of “Moorish Lament,” a piece the composer dedicated to the artist.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/899066